Articulating joints are applicable to a wide range of applications, including steering linkages for automotive vehicles. Examples of typical joints found in steering linkages are ball and socket joints and steering knuckles. It is known to provide wear indicators in these types of joints to show the amount of bearing wear present in the joint assembly. Bearing wear is translated from the degree of joint looseness.
One type of known ball and socket joint has a wear indicator associated with a bearing that engages a stud ball of the joint. However, both the bearing and the wear indicator are biased toward the stud ball. Therefore, the wear indicator cannot be manually activated.
Another type of joint includes a wear indicator that requires manual activation since the wear indicator is separate from the bearing. However, wear indicators requiring manual activation typically directly contact the ball stud and therefore produce unwanted interference with the joint assembly.